Security Upgrades Planned For 2025 Grant County Fair

In the wake of a shooting that injured two teenage girls last summer, the Grant County Fair is adding numerous security enhancements for the 2025 event.

The upgrades are being undertaken with the assistance of the Grant County Sheriff's Office, who is working closely with the Fair's management to make certain the most critical areas for improved security are addressed.

Fair manager, Jim McKiernan, says one of the planned overhauls includes adding a lot more surveillance cameras at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

Get our free mobile app

"We have fifty more cameras that we're going to install. We have nineteen on the grounds right now, but fifty more is definitely going to add to the visibility of our camera network. I don't know that I'd call it a pre-emptive measure but we can really get a lot of details with those cameras."

The Fair is also bringing in 20 additional security personnel from a Seattle-based firm for this year's event, and Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete says their credentials have been well vetted and are highly impressive.

"The people that we're bringing in here are trained for this. These are cops. They aren't just people who have a security license, they're certified peace officers who are active or who have recently retired, so we're getting high quality security personnel coming to our fair."

The Fair will also be making repairs to its perimeter fencing, especially around the area where the carnival is staged, as well as making lighting upgrades, and enhancements to its public address system to better keep attendees informed in the event of an emergency.

McKiernan and Kriete say the installation of metal detectors and other screening technologies have also been discussed, but concerns regarding patrons' rights to carry firearms and other issues have left those possibilities tabled for the time being.

The incident involving the injured teens happened on August 16, 2024, when a 15-year-old boy fired a handgun during a gang-related dispute at the fairgrounds.

Kriete says last year's shooting wasn't the only onus for the security improvements, but that they are also part of an ongoing effort to increase public safety at one of Grant County's largest events.